Section 485-E:7 General Powers and Duties.
I. The Southeast Watershed Alliance may engage in:
(a) Intermunicipal and regional planning, coordination, and public education.
(b) Intermunicipal implementation measures, including but not limited to, intermunicipal investments and the establishment of intermunicipal agreements in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter.
II. The Alliance shall establish governing operating procedures and organizational structure, as follows:
(a) At the meeting required by RSA 485-E:5, II, members of the Alliance shall establish a planning committee which shall propose a board of directors and draft operating procedures and organizational structure in furtherance of the public purpose of the Alliance and this chapter, in accordance with all state laws. The planning committee shall include representatives from 8 coastal watershed municipalities and a representative of the advisory committee.
(b) The Alliance shall hold a meeting no later than 180 days following the meeting required by RSA 485-E:5, II at which the planning committee shall present the proposed operating procedures, organizational structure, and proposed board of directors for the Alliance's review, modification, and approval. The Alliance chairperson shall send the approved operating procedures and organizational structure to the attorney general and department of environmental services for their review and approval. The attorney general shall approve any proposed agreement unless it is in improper form or is incompatible with the requirements of this chapter and the laws of this state. The attorney general shall notify in writing to the governing bodies and the planning committee the details of any specific respects in which the proposed agreement fails to meet the requirements of law. Approval by the attorney general shall be required for the operating procedures and organizational structure to be legally valid. Failure by the attorney general to disapprove an agreement within 30 days of its submission shall constitute approval. The department shall provide comment, including recommendations for improvement, to the committee and governing bodies within 30 days of the proposed agreement's submission relative to its compatibility with the state water statutes and rules.
(c) The Alliance may amend its operating procedures and organizational structure, if necessary, to engage in implementation measures, including the establishment of intermunicipal agreements pursuant to RSA chapter 53-A. Any such amendments shall be presented and approved at a properly noticed public meeting, and submitted to and reviewed by the attorney general and the department consistent with subparagraph (b).
III. The Alliance shall have the power to engage in intermunicipal and regional planning, coordination, and public education in furtherance of the purpose of this chapter during and after the establishment of the Alliance's bylaws, and before the department's final adoption of water quality standards establishing applicable numeric nutrient criteria.
IV. The Alliance shall have the power to engage in implementation measures consisting of intermunicipal agreements property and investments, staff, services and facilities, and the establishment of intermunicipal or regional districts, in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter. Intermunicipal or regional districts, and implementation measures needed to fund and construct intermunicipal or regional infrastructure, including the incurring of obligations or the raising and appropriating of revenue, shall be established pursuant to cooperative agreements, which shall be valid only if established in accordance with RSA 53-A. After the department's final adoption of water quality standards establishing applicable numeric nutrient criteria, the Alliance may develop a water quality management plan and, at its discretion, establish a water quality planning committee to determine the advisability of establishing one or more intermunicipal water quality management districts to implement such water quality management plan. The Alliance may engage in implementation measures prior to the department's final adoption of water quality standards.
Source. 2009, 220:1, eff. July 15, 2009.